IOSR Journal of Research & Method in Education (IOSR-JRME) e-ISSN: 2320–1959.p- ISSN: 2320–1940 Volume 10, Issue 3 Ser. V (May - June 2020), PP 45-48 www.iosrjournals.org DOI: 10.9790/7388-1003054548 www.iosrjournals.org 45 | Page The Advantages and Disadvantages of Virtual Learning Doan Thi Hue Dung Department of English Language, Hong Bang International University Abstract:Virtual education has exploded during the past few years and become even more centric to the life of university and school worldwide during the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic. Together with the expansion of virtual courses is the increasing concern about the quality of education it provides and the challenges faced by the teacher and the learner. This article aims to look at the advantages and disadvantages of virtual learning experienced by the faculty and the student. The study took place at the Department of English Languages of Hong Bang International University during Semester 2 of the academic year 2019-2020, based on the survey with 205 students and 22 lecturers. Deriving as a contingent solution to provide the instruction to students during the pandemic time, virtual courses have been recognized by more than 82% participants for their positive impacts on the student’s learning experience. The two most critical issues that raise concerns are digital division and the lack of social skills among students in virtual learning environment. Key words:Online Learning, Virtual Classrooms, Virtual Learning, Virtual Education --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date of Submission: 02-06-2020 Date of Acceptance: 17-06-2020 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Introduction Virtual education generally refers to instruction in a learning environment where teacher and student are separated by time or space, or both. The course contents are conveyed through IT applications, multimedia resources, the Internet, videoconferencing, etc. Virtual education starts its life as an innovation to provide education access beyond the campus walls. The first online provision dates back to 1960, when the University of Illinois created an Intranet for its students. It is the system of linked computer terminals where students could access course materials as well as listen to recorded lectures [1]. Virtual education has grown rapidly and globally in the past few years with diversified online courses at all levels including K-12, colleges, universities and lifelong learning institutions. Discussing the growth of online learning, Forbes forecasts the online education market will possibly reach $350 Billion by 2025 rising from $107 Billion in 2015[2]. Many educators predicted that technology ecosystems have gradually overturned the world of higher education globally as massive open online courses (MOOCs) can even replace the face-to-face university education and require a new field of educational psychology [3], [4],[5]. In the field of English language teaching, Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) derives its significance as a dynamic and advanced approach of teaching and learning, in which the computer and computer-based resources such as the Internet are widely used to present, reinforce and assess the learning contents. Similar to other online provision, the implementation of CALL often faces common challenges from teacher training, IT infrastructure, investment budget, etc. [6]. Even though the study mainly focuses on students of English Language major, the term virtual education and virtual learning will be used more often for their broader coverage of meanings. Another reason is that the study also attempts to look at issues and factors beyond the language teaching and learning scope such as students’ skill development and students’ perspective towards online learning opportunity. Types of virtual courses There are typically three types of virtual courses depending on the nature of instructional interaction between the teacher and learner, particularly the point of time of occurring interaction. Asynchronous online courses do not take place in real-time. Students are more self-directed, doing the course work and assignments within a time frame. The teacher-student interaction takes place through discussion boards, blogs, and email, etc. There is no appointed class meeting time. Asynchronous are flexible and effective to students with time constraint or busy schedules. Synchronous online courses require the instructor and student to interact online simultaneously. Students receive instruction from teacher and interact with their teacher and course mates through texts, audio chats, and video chats in a virtual classroom. Synchronous learning environments enable students to participate in a course from home in real time.
Welcome message from author
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Related Documents
